On Friday I got some bad news dealer tells me the old ranger wheels are discontinued and they can't supply
So I am back to searching for the best match. I found that a company called vision wheels makes a d window steel in 15x7

also i see jegs has a aluminum rimm in the sizes i need. what do any of you think about these

 

Those would be cool!

 

The only thing with these is silver car with silver rims
Years ago I was told by wheels next that light car dark wheels and dark car light wheels
I have always done that and results are good
That is why the black wheel looks so good on a silver car

 

YOu could always paint them black...

 

hello everyone
i have not made any progress on my build this summer and as it is getting to the end of the season for sure the drive hits me now to make some improvements
this weekend , weather permitting that is , i'm going to attempt a all steel cowl induction hood scoop.
this is to clear the air cleaner.
i have the hood curve templates done in plywood and end at aprox 2 3/4 tall and arc same as hood does from the front to the windshield.
i will post pics as i go
stay tuned

 

Gordie, I like the steel cowl idea! Best of luck with completing it, It should come out nice

 

guys after the last 2 weekends and a monumental amount of work i have the cowl fabed and all metal work complete. today is a holiday here in canada so with this days work it brings the total hours to 48. i bought a strip disc to remove paint and i found that the hood was painted 3 times with a over spray of maroon so i stripped to bare steel and got all body work done.
sprayed with 2 coats of epoxy primer. car can sit outside like this for 2 years.
remember i only have outside to work and short daylight hours makes it very hard

 

Wow! It looks really good!

 

guys now that winter is showing signs of going away i am at a crossroad so to speak. i have had it with the steering box causing header issues.
so it has to go. i bought a mustang 2 manual rack and made this bracket to mount the rack to.
also found a 15 x 6 d window rim at last and tires are going to get mounted

 

What’s the plan for mounting it? Using the idler arm and box mounting points?

 

well right now i think i will drill the bracket and frame just ahead of the crossmember. new bracket will be made to mount tie rod ends towards the front of the hubs.i picked up a taper reamer for tie rod end taper needs but this is all just in my mind i may change when i can get at it and see
this will made it easy with double d rod and universal for a straighter line
the width of my mount bracket is a tight fit from rail to rail

 

Subscribed to watch the R&P progress. Been thinking about having local hot rod shop do this for me.

 

awesome job Gordie! Interested in how you like R and P steering

 

Thanks guys
On another note I really hope all of you and your loveones are safe and take extreme care with this pandemic

Today I received some Moog tie rod ends I had to get them from rockauto as no local shops are open now here in Canada with this spiraling out of control world .
also I ordered some stainless universal joints a 9/16- 28 spline to 3/4 DD and some 3/4 DD rod from summit. I need to wait for the universal for the steering shaft as I can't get to it just yet.
Also where the stock tie rod ends mount I hope the taper is the same and I can turn them around to the front of the hubs.
Or I may have to make new ones

 

guys after work today it was very nice i tryed the front rims that are 15x6 and have 185/60 r 15 on them.
these fit very well and i am happy with the offset but camber is out just a bit so next thing is to get the car lower
and see if this helps or camber plates maybe needed

 

more work going on now that weather is better. for anyone who is going to mount later model rx7 5 lug hubs on the stock spindles this is what you need.
farther back on my thread i showed the bearing spacers needed for the hub bearings and also a spacer is needed to drive on to the spindle to space out the hub for rotor clearance.
i bought from mcmaster carr steel spacers in 1 1/2 od x 1 id and 1/2 thick. these i hawged out the id to aprox 27.5 mm with a die grinder . i finished with a dremal to end at about 27.9 mm. the spindle is 28mm so this is a friction fit. i got a seal that is 1 1/2 id and close to the hub od which is 63mm . the seal is rubber coated and removing the rubber from the od brings it very close to 63mm. the 1 1/2 id now runs on the spacer.


these red springs are 7" 500lb , i had 9" 300 lb on there but ran out of adj so removed them for the 7's and after a bit of work this is how the tire now sits in the wheel opening
i love the look of this now
for brakes i am waiting on 2 lexus ls430 4 piston calipers to come in i tried to get some rx7 calipers in 4 piston but they are retarted expensive the lexus are only 100 bucks

 

very nice Gordie!! I could probably produce that piece on the waterjet, Did you get a bracket for the brakes yet?

 

thanks Andrew
no brackets just yet as the lexus calipers mount through the top of the calipers with 2 studs same as most aftermarket calipers do
i need to get them first to see what measurements they are
my plan is to have a peice cut to fit the stock mount which is 152mm center to center then have a block drilled to fit calipers and have the brake pressed to hold in place then tack the 2 brackets together remove and finish welding

 

hey everyone hope you are all well with this covid 19 crazy way of life . with this ongoing slow delivery it has been a hell full summer on my build
both waiting for months for products and record setting heat it has been one of the most hard times.

i have spent the last 2 months on and off working on the front brakes . the lexus calipers i bought just will not work in my design they will not fit inside my 15" rim so i had to pay the crazy high price for a pair of jdm mazda calipers . these are smaller then the lexus and look more stock and fit perfectly in the 15.
rotor is a 11 3/4 stoptech oem mazda replacement and i made these brackets from 1/4 plate and all fits very well

just look at the picture from the backside of the rim see how close this is but the wheel spins with no touch anywhere and the look from the outside is a rim full of rotor exactly what i wanted

 

Hey Gordie! Glad you are doing well, my Turbo II calipers inside my 15s looked very similar.

 

Thanks Andrew am so happy with the rx7 calipers I should have done this first.they fit perfect with the brackets I made.
Over the last 2 months I made crazy progress I got all the rack mounted with all double d rods and universals mounted and steering is fantastic.
I started fabbing the exhaust and have it very close to done. Also I got my wheel flares and drilled the fenders for 6mm bolts in stainless I used a astro tools pop rivet style rivetnut tool it worked good for 6 and on the 7 the handle broke while squeezing it with all I had and broke my right hand thumb knuckle so this set me back but I still got it done.
Also removed the dash to repair the cracks and with a plastic welder it was fixed up I bought a carpet dash cover from dash covers.com and it was made to the exact dash.
The fit is great
i got the drive shaft mounted to the stock rearend just so I can move the car around the yard.

Now I know this is a long going build thread and some may have lost interest but I truely think I turned a corner on this build.
The list is getting short and really only the 8.8 rearend to be mounted and some new wiring
I will post all the pictures in the next few days I have just made the most of the time I have even tonight I worked on it outside in the dark till about 8pm.
I have been trying to get all I can as no snow even in the forecast yet but dark at 4.45pm now

 

Excited for you and a look forward to photos. Keep at it.

 

Thank you yolo
The thumb knuckle is still a sore **** even after about 5 weeks I will post a picture of it later tonight when time allows.
I am still working on the exhaust right now I am having trouble getting bend angles right for it to sit as high as I can get it and not rub
I have 2 1/2 off the headers both merge into a 3 and go back to the muffler.

 

here are the pics so far
see I had to remove the oil filter for the steering rod
So if any of you know a fix for this please let me know

 

Gordie, I hope you didn't give up on this!